Breaking Down The Walls
by JustSunny
Summary: Ana takes on the position as an interim housekeeper for the mysterious Christian Grey while his housekeeper is away on her honeymoon. All she knows is that he is a self-made billionaire who has never been seen in public. Will she be able to uncover his secret or is it true what Mrs. Taylor has told her and she won't even meet the man she is going to work for. AU/OOC/SHORT STORY
1. Chapter 1

_**Hi guys, I know I already have one ongoing story but this idea came to me and I just had to write it down. It's a short story with 8 chapters which are all written so you'll get daily updates. I want to point out that this is not a paranormal story, Christian isn't a vampire/ghost/werewolf but just a simple human being. The reason I'm pointing this out because the beginning is kind of similar to one of my favorite FSOG stories which is called Untouched but apart from the stories starting out kind of similar it's not at all the same... so enjoy!**_

 _ **Disclaimer: All characters belong to E. L. James**_

It's just a job, Ana... don't piss yourself. Ana Steele was standing outside of the old mansion that had a haunted vibe to it trying to convince herself to get inside and start her new job as the interim housekeeper for the owner Christian Grey.

When the agency had offered her the job she had agreed right away because the salary was very good and it was just for two months while the current housekeeper was on her honeymoon. She had tried to look her new boss up and had found only little information about him. His parents were a doctor and lawyer, his brother was an architect and his sister owned a chain of wedding boutiques. He himself was an IT genius and had made in fortune in his chosen field. Still, it seemed like no one had ever seen him. There were no pictures of him, not of him alone or with his family.

Some gossip blogs even went so far as to say Christian Grey didn't exist or that he was disabled like Steven Hawkins which was why he had never been seen. Some even went so far as to call him the phantom. Her favorite story was that he was a werewolf and needed the time between every full moon to recover which was why he couldn't leave his home.

Of course, all of that was nonsense, but now actually looking at his homemade her rethink some of it. It just had such a dark, haunting vibe that she had chills running down her spine. And as if that wasn't enough she suddenly heard a dog howling which sounded like a wolf and she shook her head at herself and finally went to knock at the door.

It took about two minutes and then the door opened, but what she saw was making her take a couple of steps back. She didn't even see the woman who had opened the door because of the two dogs in front of her, they were massive one snow white with light blue eyes and the other black with brown eyes that were almost golden. Both were tall enough to reach her waist and looked almost like wolfs.

„Excuse me, these two can be quite scary but be assured they are both darlings." The woman who had opened the door said.

„Are you Mrs. Taylor?"

„Indeed, that I am and you are Miss Steele?"

„Yes... so are you sure they don't bite?"

„Don't worry dear, they are like little puppies the white one is Angel and the black one is Devil." The woman said and that actually made Ana smile and she stepped closer to meet the dogs who wagged their tails when she petted them before she followed Mrs. Taylor into the kitchen.

„Right... I have a list of your duties here. Your daily routine will be quite structured and follow an exact timeline. Mr. Grey is a person of habit and he doesn't like to stray from his routines. You have already signed the NDA right?"

„Yes, it was given to me by my agency."

„Very well, so, I have to stress out to follow the timeline as given in the list. Mr. Grey does not like the unexpected, once you have prepared his meals and put them out for him to eat you have to leave the kitchen and are not to return for forty-five minutes until he has finished his meal and left the room. During the day you can be in your quarters and follow your plan of chores so you won't come near Mr. Grey."

„Does this mean I won't even see him?" Ana asked confused.

„Yes. Mr. Grey does not like to be around strangers, he will leave notes for you if he requires you to do something for him, but you are not likely to see him while you are here." Mrs. Taylor explained.

„Have you seen him?"

„Yes, I have been working for Mr. Grey for about seven years now and have seen him occasionally. He likes to keep to himself and he doesn't like to talk much. I was working for him for nearly a year before he first approached me directly instead of leaving me a note." She said and Ana got a feeling that she should just leave. Something about this just didn't seem right.

„Does he have friends?"

„He is close to his siblings and parents who come to visit regularly otherwise there is only my husband who is his right-hand man... while we are away Mr. Sawyer, my husband's assistant will be here as well, so if you have any questions you can ask him." Mrs. Taylor said and Ana was sure that even with her only being here for a few minutes she already had a million questions.

„You do realize that all of this seems a bit odd." She finally said and the older woman smiled.

„I'm fully aware of that, but I can assure you that you have nothing to worry about. Mr. Grey just really likes to have his privacy."

„Ok, is there anything else I need to be aware off?"

„Well let's see, you have to make sure the dogs are fed, let them out in the backyard during the day if you don't feel comfortable walking them. Oh, and on Thursday you will have to make dinner for two as Mr. Grey will have his monthly guest here."

„Is this guest staying overnight?"

„No, they usually leave after they um... have taken care of business," Mrs. Taylor said clearly uncomfortable and it took Ana a second to realize that they were talking about an Escort girl.

„Oh... I see, well I will make sure to cook some extra then." She said blushing.

„Very well, I will show you the staff quarters and your room now."

Ana followed the woman while looking around the house which reminded her of the interior of an old English manor. It was very old fashioned but for some reason, she loved it as it reminded her of the world in which some of her favorite novels took place.

She noticed that the dogs followed her through the halls until they reached the staff quarters.

„This will be your room while you are staying here. You have your own bathroom. There is a staff kitchen, a tv room and home gym which you can use. Mr. Grey has a huge library from which we can borough books. It is on the second floor you can go there after you have cleaned Mr. Grey's bedroom."

„I'll keep that in mind." She said with a smile and made a mental note to go to the library as soon as possible to see what kind of selection her mysterious new boss had.

„Are the dogs yours?"

„No, they belong to Mr. Grey and will spend most of the day with him, they are just here now to see who is here."

„I see. Are there any more pets in the house?"

„Yes, Mr. Grey has a cat which never leaves his side, but don't worry he cleans the litter box himself and feeds the little guy too... so you'll most likely never get to see the cat either and the dogs only when they need to be fed or have to go outside."

„I usually go for a run in the evening, do you think Mr. Grey would mind if I take them with me so they'll get some exercise too?" She asked.

„I'm certain he will be ok with that. I'll ask him, but you will have to give me an exact time to give to him."

„Oh... ok, say 8:30 pm?"

„Very well, I'll ask him and will let you know tomorrow when you come over to bring your belongings."

A little later Ana left the house and got to her car. As she looked up she saw someone at the window looking at her. It seemed to be a tall man, but she wasn't able to make out his face or anything else, so she quickly turned around, got into her car and drove to Kate's place. Kate Kavanagh had been her best friend since kindergarten and she even lived with her family for the last two years of High School after both her parents had passed away leaving her without family.

She had wanted to go to college and the Kavanaghs had offered to pay for her education but Ana didn't want them to pay so much for her. Instead, she had decided to work as a live-in housekeeper. Most rich families paid their housekeeper a lot, just like the family she had been working for, for the last five years, but now they had moved to California to be closer to their grandchildren and so she had needed to find new employment.

Since she didn't need to pay for housing or most other things she could save a lot of money and these two months with Christian Grey would bring her what she needed to be able to enroll in college and pay for her education herself in fall.

She spent the evening with Kate, her brother Ethan of some of their friends before she left early in the morning to bring her belongings to her new room.

When she arrived Mrs. Taylor was already there waiting for her. „Good morning, Miss Steele. I have talked to Mr. Grey and he likes the idea of giving the dogs some more exercise. You can take them with you to your run in the evening but he has asked that you will not let them off their leashes. You have to understand that he is very close to his pets and would be terribly upset if anything was to happen to either of them."

„I'll make sure they won't get lost." She assured Mrs. Taylor after an hour later the Taylor's left for their honeymoon and she had met Mr. Sawyer who was working in a small office by the entrance of the house when he wasn't in the staff quarters.

She looked at her list of duties and saw that it is was time to tidy up Mr. Grey's bedroom. So she went upstairs and opened the bedroom door. The room looked nice enough, but it was lacking a personal note... however, her boss was a man so maybe he just wasn't into nic nacs or other memorabilia.

So, she changed the sheets, opened a window to let some air in and did some dusting before she left the room and went on with her duties. While she was making lunch she also baked some cookies and left them on a plate on the counter for her new boss in case he liked red velvet cookies.

When she returned to the kitchen an hour later she noticed with a smile that the plate with the cookies was gone and that there was a note.

 _ ***The cookies have been delicious, please do make some more if you find the time***_

She smiled and decided that she would bake some more cookies while she was making dinner. Since the pantry was very well stocked she had everything there to make some other of her favorite cookies as well, which she hoped her boss would like too.

Still, she had a feeling that something about all of this was very weird and she was dying to meet her boss and see the man who until now was a true mystery to her.


	2. Chapter 2

On the next day, Ana had just fed the dogs and was tidying up the kitchen when the doorbell rang and so she went to open it. When she did, she found a man in his late twenties or early thirties with blonde curls, sparkling blue eyes and a dazzling smile in front of her.

„Hi, you must be Miss Steele, my brother told me you are replacing Gail while she is on her honeymoon and he told me you bake amazing cookies. I'm Elliot Grey."

„Hi, please call me Ana, Mr. Grey... come in." She said and stepped aside to let him in.

„Do you know where my brother is?"

„No, I haven't met him yet, Mrs. Taylor said he doesn't like strangers so it's likely I won't meet him at all." She said and noticed that his brother looked annoyed.

„Well, it was a pleasure to meet you, Ana... I'll be off to find my mysterious brother." He smirked and went up the stairs hollering the name of his brother while she finished to clean the kitchen and then went to the staff kitchen to make lunch for herself.

So at least she knew that he really did exist since he not just was eating his meals, but also had a brother. Still, she couldn't help but wonder why he was so reclusive that he didn't seem to leave his house and had no guest besides his family.

„Ana?" She heard his brother call out and put the sandwich she had made herself for lunch down and walked out of the staff kitchen.

„Mr. Grey?"

„Hi... so I missed lunch and my brother could eat all day... would you mind making us something?" He asked with a sheepish grin.

„Of course, I could make subs and some veggie sticks with hummus to go with it?" She asked.

„Sounds perfect." He said and followed her into the kitchen where she started to make the food.

„Is your brother much older than you?" She asked since she hadn't even been able to find out about his age.

„No, he is the middle child, Christian turned 28 just a few months ago."

„Does he ever leave the house?" She asked knowing she came across nosy but everything about the man she was working for was just so odd.

„Rarely, most of the time we come to visit him. He said you are a very good cook, especially for being as young as you are."

„My mother was a horrible cook, every time she decided to give it another try we all would end up with an upset stomach and my dad couldn't do more than cook noodles or heat things in the microwave. When I was about twelve I asked them for a cookbook and since then I taught myself."

„So you cook for your family on special occasions now?" Elliot Grey asked clearly interested to learn more about the young woman who was now working for his brother.

„No, my parents passed away when I was fifteen, I was lucky that my best friend's parents offered me to live with them until I was finished with high school but since I have started to work as a live-in housekeeper I'm usually busy during the holidays." She explained.

„Don't you have any family left?"

„No, but I have a few good friends whom I consider my family." She said as she put the subs onto plates, got the hummus and veggie sticks from the fridge and put everything with a pitcher of iced tea onto a plate.

„I would offer to carry it upstairs for you, but I'm not sure your brother would appreciate it."

„It's alright, I'll put the tray here on my way out." He said and took it when Ana remembered something.

„Is your brother in the library right now, Mr. Grey?"

„No, we are in his study, why?"

„Mrs. Taylor said your brother wouldn't mind if I would take books from there to read them, I just didn't want to upset him by barging in there while he is reading."

„I see, well, he isn't in there right now and won't be until I have to leave in about an hour." He said so Ana followed him upstairs and went into the library.

For a second she thought about what his brother had just said especially the comment about his brother eating all day if it was up to him. Maybe he was morbidly obese and couldn't leave the house... but that couldn't be it. She had just this morning done the laundry and his clothes were not the clothes of a man who was even remotely obese.

Pushing the thought aside she looked at his very impressive collection of books from all sorts of genres. She picked a classic she really liked and took it with her before she had to run some errands and do her chores to get everything ready in time.

Once she had made dinner she left the kitchen and took almost an hour before she wanted to return but then she heard noises from the kitchen, heavy footsteps accompanied by another sound she couldn't quite place. She so wanted to just peek into the kitchen to see what her boss looked like, but she didn't. For some reason, she felt that doing so would have been a gross invasion of his privacy. After all, it could very well be that he was suffering from a phobia that made him stay away from strangers and she didn't want to trigger him when she had no idea what that would do to him.

Finally, she heard his footsteps as well as the other sound she still couldn't place leave the kitchen and only then did she walk in only to find another note.

 _ ***Dinner has been delicious, thank you, Miss Steele. And thank you for giving me the time to leave the kitchen. I appreciate it.***_

He must have heard her footsteps in the hallway, she thought and looked at the note written in beautiful cursive.

She had no idea what to make out of this. He knew that she had been there so why didn't he just introduce himself like any other decent human being? To take her mind off of things she decided to meet with Kate and Ethan for drinks after her evening run.

She told Sawyer that she would be out for a few hours and then drove to the city where she met them at the bar the usually frequented.

When she arrived she smiled at the siblings and hugged both of them in turn. She was glad that Ethan and she still were close friends. She had had a crush on him in her teen years and shortly after her seventeenth birthday they had snuck into his parents liquor cabinet one night and it had ended with her losing her virginity to him and both of them regretting what had happened instantly but too afraid to say it, so they had dated for about three months before it had been Ana who had asked for a conversation. They had talked and both agreed that it just wasn't working and they were better off as friends which to both their great relief had worked just fine for them.

She had no regrets about the way she had lost her virginity still she had not been with anyone since because it had taught her that the next time she would be with a man it should be out of love and not a little crush and drunken stupor. She knew that her expectations were probably a bit high, but she was looking for a man that was hard working, honest, loving, faithful, funny and charming and she didn't want to settle for any less.

„Hey Ana, so has your boss howled at the moon yet?" Kate teased since they had found many of those stupid articles together.

„No, but he has two beautiful dogs Angel and Devil." She said with a smile and showed her a picture of the dogs she had taken in the morning.

„You call those dogs... they look like wolves." Kate shrieked.

„I know, but they are lovely dogs."

„And your boss?"

„Well, I haven't seen him so far."

„Really, that is so weird Ana, are you sure you should stay there, what if he is a psychopath?"

„I'm not alone with him in the house Ethan, there is another guy Sawyer who looks after the house and is also security. So, I'll be fine, plus with the money I'm going to make in those eight weeks I finally have enough money saved to go to college." She said with a big smile. Sure, she would still need a part-time job to support herself, but at least she wouldn't need to take student loans which was important to her.

„I don't know, Ana. It's just so odd, I've asked my mom about the Greys but she told me she hasn't seen their middle child either, apparently, he was homeschooled while his siblings went to school. No one knows why... it's just weird."

„Look, Kate, it's just seven and a half more weeks. So far, all I can tell you is that he enjoys the food I'm cooking, has a very nice older brother and a love for pets and cookies."

„His pets look like actual monsters!"

„They are cuddly babies and he also has a cat." Ana said surprising herself that she was now defending someone she had never even met before.

In the end, they didn't talk about him anymore and after two cocktails and a beer, Ana decided to leave her car and take a cab home instead. When she walked down the driveway she saw the light was still on in Mr. Grey's bedroom and again she saw him standing by the window but couldn't make out his face or anything really. All she could tell was that he was tall and seemed to be in good physical shape.

It was so frustrating that this man whom she had never even heard of before she was asked to be his interim housekeeper was now constantly on her mind. So, she looked away and went inside surprised to find both dogs close by the door but as soon as she was inside and had petted them they turned around and went upstairs to find their master.

For a short moment she actually thought that he had sent them downstairs to wait for her to come back, but she pushed that thought aside and started to walk towards the staff quarters once inside her room she stopped in her tracks because on her bedside table was a glass of water which she hadn't left there and next to it two Advil as well as a note.

 _ ***Please take these so you won't feel poorly in the morning.***_

He had been in her room... well it was his house so he could go into every room he pleased, but still... and why would he care if she was hungover the next morning or not... with a groan she took the Advil, changed into her pj's and then went to bed. She could think of mysterious boss the next morning...

 _ **Next chapter: Ana finally gets to meet her mysterious boss :)**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**A lot of you have been wondering how Christian knew that Ana was out drinking with her friends. He didn't follow her there he knew because she told Sawyer she would be out to have drinks with her friends and he does talk to Sawyer...**_

 _ **Oh and I have created a Pinterest Board for this story here is the link, just remove the spaces: www dot pinterest dot de / sfanfiction / breaking - down - the - walls /**_

* * *

Three more days, Ana thought to herself. She had been in the Grey mansion for almost eight weeks now and she had never met her boss. He would leave a note occasionally, but she had never seen him and it was still driving her insane. Against what Mrs. Taylor had told her, there had been no Escort to visit him in the time she had been here... the only people to ever visit him were family members. She had met his sister, parents, brother, even his grandparents... but the man himself was still and probably would always be a mystery to her.

It was driving her insane, she had thought about a number of ways to see him, but it all boilt down to the fact that she didn't want to be disrespectful, so she had never gone through with any of her plans.

„Ana, I will be leaving now, I'll be back tomorrow around noon. Mr. Grey knows I will be gone. He asked for you to make sure all doors are locked and that the security system is running before you go to bed." Sawyer told her and she nodded.

„Sure, enjoy your day off, Luke." She said with a smile even though she hated that he could go and see Mr. Grey whenever he pleased while she didn't even know what the man looked like.

„Sure will." He grinned and left, while Ana went on with her day.

In the evening she had just made her rounds to make sure the house was secure for the night when she heard a very loud banging noise from upstairs. It sounded as if something or maybe even someone had fallen to the floor.

For a moment she just stood by the stairs and suddenly Devil came charging down the stairs and ran towards her, whimpering and trying to pull her with him by her sleeve.

She had no idea what to do but the dog seemed to be in distress and she knew she had to go upstairs and check what had happened.

Slowly, she walked up the stairs and saw that the door to Mr. Grey's bedroom was slightly opened.

„Sir is everything alright, I heard a loud noise from up here." She called out... but there was no answer.

„Mr. Grey please answer me, do you need help?" She called out again but there still was no answer and she was getting worried.

„Look, I know you don't like to interact with strangers but I'm really worried and if you don't answer me then I have to come in to see what happened." She said hoping he would answer.

„Get Sawyer." She finally heard a male voice.

„He has the day off, he won't be back until tomorrow around noon." She answered.

„Then call my brother."

„I don't have his number." She replied desperate to get into the room and see what happened because she knew something wasn't right and he was most likely in need of help.

„God damn it... get in here." He yelled and suddenly she was terrified of what she was going to find behind that door but then she pulled herself together. For almost eight weeks now she had wanted nothing more than to see her boss, well, now the time had come.

She went into his bedroom and it took her all of two seconds to take in the scene. One of the water bowls for the pets had been spilled on the hardwood floor and her boss must have slipped because he was one a floor and a cane that he obviously used to keep himself steady while walking around had scattered across the floor way out of his reach.

„Did you hurt yourself?" She asked as she approached him.

„No... what the..." He didn't get to finish his sentence because before he knew what had happened the itty bitty girl that was his housekeeper had grabbed him, pulled him up and planted his ass in the club chair by the fireplace in his bedroom.

„I'll get something to clean the floor." She said before she picked the cane up and handed it to him, leaving him in the chair utterly confused. Why did she want to come back... even if it was to just clean... he had been sure she would have been disgusted with the way he looked or even ran away screaming. He had seen the way women reacted to his scars for all of his life.

As a child kids would tease him or call him names and later when he was a teenage boy girls had not wanted to be anywhere near him. After a particularly unpleasant experience with a girl, he had really liked he had decided he would spare himself any more anguish by leading a secluded life. His family had always tried to encourage him to leave the house and act his age but he knew he wasn't like all the other men his age.

So, he had gone into the App developing business and had made a small fortune with selling his first App, by now he had amassed a fortune that allowed him to never leave the house, which was how he preferred to live.

„Are you sure you didn't hurt yourself, I could call your mother, she is a doctor, right?" He heard the voice of his housekeeper who was now on the floor with a towel cleaning the mess his cat had made while chasing after a toy.

„I'm fine... and yes she is. Do you work out a lot?" He asked still wondering how the hell she had managed to get him into the chair.

„No Sir, I just go for a run each day and try to swim twice a week." Ana replied smiling at her boss. That man was breath-taking. He was tall, well-built, with unruly copper-colored hair, a strong jaw, sensual lips and striking grey eyes framed by thick dark lashes. She had noticed that he had scars, most likely burn scars, which ran from his left temple over his cheek down his neck where probably more scars were hiding under his shirt... but it didn't bother her at all. She barely even noticed them she was so dazzled by the beauty of the man in front of her.

„Well, you are certainly stronger than you look." He said while eyeing her on the floor wiping the water away before she went into his bathroom to refill the water bowl.

„Is there anything else you need, Sir?"

 _You sucking my dick... riding my cock... stop it, Grey!_ „No, that would be all. And thank you, Miss Steele."

„Ana, please... and you are very welcome, have a good night, Sir." She said and left the room.

So, now she had met her boss and he was the most handsome man she had ever seen. She had been barely able to stop herself from staring at him and everything she had been able to think of while looking at him had been that she wanted him to fuck her... hard.

 _Christ Ana, get to together, he is your boss._ She scolded herself and went to her bedroom but even while she was lying in bed she couldn't help but think of the man that was upstairs in his bedroom now.

Why would he hide in there... was it agoraphobia... or maybe he was ashamed because of his limp? She had no idea, all she knew was that for the first time in her life all she could think of was to get hot and sweaty with a guy and she knew it wasn't going to happen because surely he wouldn't be interested.

In the morning she had just led the dogs outside to relieve themselves and was now making breakfast when she heard footsteps accompanied by the noise she now realized came from his cane.

„Good morning, Ana." She heard the voice of her boss behind her and it made her heart beat faster and her insides clench.

„Good morning, Mr. Grey your breakfast will be ready in five minutes."

„Make it for two and join me." He said surprising her, but soon they both sat down at the large wooden kitchen table.

„Tell me about yourself?"

„Well, I was born and raised in Seattle. My parents passed away in a car accident when I was fifteen and I have lived with my best friend's family until I started to work as a live-in housekeeper when I was eighteen."

„Why didn't you go to college?"

„I couldn't afford it."

„Haven't your parents left you anything?"

„The accident left both my parents severely injured. My mother passed away first after two weeks, my father was in a coma for two more months. After the hospital bill, mortgage and the funerals had been paid there was nothing left from the sale of my childhood home. But I intend to start college this fall, I was able to save a lot of money from my income as housekeeper." She said and he looked sad for a moment.

„You have no family?" He asked softly.

„No, but the family of my best friend, Kate, has become my family. I'm very close to her and her brother Ethan, they are like siblings to me."

„I see, what are you going to study?"

„I want to make a degree in literature and go into publishing."

„You prefer the classics, right?"

„Yes, how do you know?"

„I noticed what kind of books you picked to read from my library. I happen to like the classics too Mary Shelly is my favorite... as you have noticed, I can relate to being a monster." He said dryly and she gasped.

„You are not a monster... how can you say that?" She asked knowing that she was overstepping her boundaries but she couldn't believe a man this attractive would refer to himself as a monster.

Christian stared at the girl, clearly, she was playing a part... she could see just like he did that he was a monster... a cripple with scars that turned him into a hideous monster. Why would she deny it and treat him like he was just another guy she had randomly met somewhere and not the monster he was.

„I am, Ana. Thank you for breakfast." He said and left the kitchen abruptly leaving Ana confused as to why he would call himself a monster when that was furthest from what he truly was which was a very handsome man.

Was that why he never left the house? Because he feared people would look at him and see the few flaws he had. If anything she thought those flaws did him some good because without them he wouldn't be able to walk down the street without every woman who laid eyes on him trying to throw herself at him.

She thought about this the entire day and the next day too, but she didn't see him again and still she dreamed about him every night.

On her last day, she was making dinner when Sawyer walked in. „The boss wants you to bring his dinner upstairs for him and take yours upstairs too." He said and left the room while Ana felt her heart start to race again. She had been hoping to see him at least one more time before she had to leave, so she had to stop herself from running upstairs when she had everything on a tray.

Instead, she walked upstairs and found him in the sitting room next to his bedroom.

„Thank you for joining me, Ana." He said politely while she placed the food on the small table by the window and sat down with him.

„You're welcome... I've heard the Taylors will be back late in the evening, so I will be leaving in the morning."

„I see, where will you live?"

„Here in Seattle, my friend Kate has an apartment in the city and she wants me to move in with her. I will enroll at the Seattle campus of WSU, so now all I need to do is to find a part-time job to support myself." She said.

„Does your friend live alone?"

„Yes, but her brother lives in the same building and Kate was looking for a roommate anyway."

„I was going to offer you that you can stay here until you have found something but it doesn't seem to be necessary."

„No, but thank you anyway." She said with a smiled and he just looked at her as if he was trying to see right into her soul which made her blush and bite her bottom lip.

While they were talking Christian tried to figure her out as he had tried to do over the past few days. He had never met a woman who didn't at least gape at him, react with fear or disgust to the way he looked. Ana didn't, she just looked at him smiling and talked animatedly about her joy of being able to finally attend college so she could one day work as an editor for a publishing house.

After dinner, they got up and he held his hand out to her to thank her for taking over Gail's job in the past eight weeks but when their skin touched both gasped at the electric current that seemed to be running between them. He tried to resist but he couldn't, he knew she would run as soon as he would make his intentions clear but he just had to do it. So, he pulled her close into his arms and when she just looked up at him he stopped second-guessing her and his own judgment and kissed her.

Ana had known that he wanted to kiss her and even though she barely knew the man she wanted him to kiss her. What she didn't expect was her reaction to his kiss because the second his lips were on hers she lost all common sense. Her fingers fisted in his hair, her body pressed against his and soon they were moving into his bedroom and towards the bed.

When they reached his bed Christian decided to give her one last chance to run. So, he took his shirt off revealing just how much damage the flames had done to the left side of his body but she surprised him again when she started to kiss the bare skin on his chest while her hands roamed further down and the first opened his belt and then his pants before her small hand reached into his pants to stroke his cock and he gave up all common sense because he had wanted this woman since he had seen her the very first time when she came to his house the day before she moved in.

Ana didn't know what had gotten into her but she wanted this man more than she ever had wanted anything in her life. Turning with him so the bed was behind him she pulled his pants down and got him to sit on the edge before she dropped to her knees and continued to stroke his rock hard cock in her hand while looking into his beautiful eyes and then she leaned forward and took him in her mouth.

She had never been a fan of oral sex because the one time she had done it, it had been rather gross to her... but with him, at this moment she wanted to give him pleasure... Good Lord... she knew right now she would have done everything for him and just by peeking up at him through her lashes and seeing the reaction to what she was doing on his face she felt aroused herself.

„Enough Ana or this is going to end way sooner than either of us wants it to." He moaned after a while and she stopped slowly and got to her feet, lifting her arms as he grabbed the hem of her dress and took it off leaving her only in her panties and shoes which she kicked off before she straddled him and they kissed again.

A moment later she squealed in surprise and giggled when he grabbed her with one arm and she found herself in the middle of the bed with him on top of her.

„Are you on birth control?" He asked while kissing her neck.

„Yes. I'm on the pill."

„Will you let me cum inside of you?" He asked while kissing down to her breasts and flicking his tongue over her nipple before he sucked it into his mouth.

„Yes... please I'm ready." She moaned if he wasn't going to fuck her soon she would probably go off in flames.

„I guess then I have to see for myself to make sure of that." He smirked up at her kneeled between her legs and peeled her panties off of her.

„So wet... you really want this." He murmured as he ran a finger over her clit down to her folds and then pushed it into her watching as she moaned and lifted her hips.

After a few moments of teasing her with his fingers, he rested between her legs and entered her while staring into her blue orbs which seemed darker now, clouded with passion and they both moaned loudly when he sank all the way into her.

Ana couldn't do anything but to look at the beautiful man on top of her and move with him. One hand in his unruly hair while the other roamed his back and further down to grab his firm ass while he was thrusting into her bringing her closer and closer to the edge until she could take no more and shouted out his name as she came with him following right behind her. And in this moment she knew she wouldn't leave in the morning if he wanted her to stay she would never leave...


	4. Chapter 4

_**Some of you felt like I had rushed them into having sex and I agree, it was rather quick but then again this is only a short story with eight chapters, so as much as I like to have them get to know each other or become friends first, with this type of story and to show the instant connection they had it felt necessary... oh and here comes the drama ...**_

Ana woke up in the early morning when she felt Christian move beside her and smiled with her eyes closed. This had been the most extraordinary night of her life. She knew eventually they had to talk about what this meant for them but for now, she was just blissfully happy. So, she leaned over to cuddle closer into him and kiss his chest but opened her eyes when he pulled away.

„Good morning, Ana." He said with a smile but for some reason, he seemed different not like the passionate, gentle lover she had spent the night with. He seemed cold and detached.

„Good morning, is everything alright?" She asked and sat up to face him.

„Yes, I have a proposition for you, Ana." He said and she smiled, she was sure he would ask her to stay and was just nervous about it.

„What kind of proposition?"

„First, I have already added 5000 dollars to your paycheck for last night and I will give you the same amount each time you will come to see me from now on. This will allow you to live comfortably while you are in college and it will benefit me because I won't have to hire escorts anymore. I would like to see you at least twice a week will that be ok with you?" He asked and Ana was sure she had never felt as angry and humiliated in all of her life.

Without saying a word she got up and got dressed, all she wanted was to run from this house and never look back.

„We can negotiate the price if you want more, after all, you have pleased me a lot last night." He said arrogantly and with that, she spun around.

„You can take your damn money and shove it up your ass for all I care. I don't want anything from you."

„Yeah right, do you think I believe for one second that you didn't have sex with me to use me as your next paycheck."

„You are sick, maybe it's a good thing you never leave the house because you clearly don't know how to behave yourself like a decent human being. Looks like you were right after all when you referred to yourself as a monster and believe me that has nothing to do with your scars." She said bitterly and ran from the room before he could see the angry tears that threatened to spill from her eyes.

She ran to her room ignoring Mrs. Taylor who was in the hallways and grabbed her already packed backs.

„Oh dear, Ana what is wrong?" She asked when she followed Ana to her room.

„I'm leaving, I have never in my life been offended like that... I can't even... I need to leave." She sobbed.

„Ana, please, what happened?"

„This man doesn't need a housekeeper, he needs a therapist." She hissed through her tears and ran to the door.

„Ana wait..." She heard Christian call from the top of the stairs, but she ignored him and ran out of the house, threw her suitcase and duffle bag on to the backseat and drove off.

She had no idea where to go because Kate wouldn't be home until the early evening and she didn't have a key. She had planned to visit her parent's grave and run some errands, but now all she wanted was to curl up and cry.

After driving around aimlessly for about two hours she went into a diner and ordered herself pancakes and hot cocoa because right now she felt entitled to comfort food. In a way, she knew she also had to take some of the blame for the disaster this morning had turned into. After all, she had had sex with a man she knew nothing about and who obviously had issues that ran way too deep for her to understand. Still, to treat her like a whore was more than she could deal with.

When her parents died and she had been left with nothing she had been happy that the Kavanaghs had taken her in. At first, she was just happy to have a home and people who even though they didn't have to were supporting her. But then some nasty girls in school had started to talk behind her back making it seem like she had to pay for her life with the Kavanaghs by allowing Ethan or his Dad to fuck her.

She had felt so cheap and dirty every time they made those remarks that she had sworn to herself that she would never allow for anyone to make her feel like that. And now it had happened again. What could have been a night she would have cherished for the rest of her life had turned into a bitter reminder that to some rich people she would always be the girl that had to earn a living on her back.

In the evening she arrived at Kate's just when Kate did who frowned when she saw her best friend.

„Is everything alright, Ana?" Kate asked.

„No, I would like to go to bed now."

„Yeah, I don't think so, you are upset and I want to know why." Kate said helped Ana to get her bags inside and got a bottle of chilled white wine from the fridge.

„Here, take this and tell me who upset you." Kate said and Ana had no idea what to do and just then the doorbell rang and Kate returned with Elliot Grey.

„Hi, Ana... Christian called me, you forget your paycheck and he also wanted me to give you this letter."

Hesitantly Ana took the envelope and took the paycheck out first. When she saw that he had made it out for 100k she closed her eyes and ripped it along with the letter to pieces before she handed it back to Christian's brother.

„You can give this back to your brother, tell him I don't want his money he can donate the payment for my work to charity or flush it down the toilet." She said with tears running down her face.

„Ana... look I don't know what happened but if my brother has upset you, you have to give him some credit he isn't really used to interacting with people and..."

„Go and ask your brother what he told me this morning and if you think his actions are defendable then please do not return." She said turned on her heel grabbed her glass of wine and locked herself in her bedroom where she finally curled up in bed to have a good cry.

Elliot Grey was confused and not sure he even wanted to know what his brother had done to make Ana cry like that. He knew Christian could be rather harsh with his words but to hurt someone else that much wasn't something he had seen before.

When he returned to Christian's she found him in his library reading. „Did she take the money?"

„No, here she ripped it along with your letter and she wants me to tell you that she doesn't want your money so you can either donate it or flush it down the toilet."

„Un-fucking-believable... how much more does she want?!" Christian hissed and angrily started to pace.

„Bro, the girl doesn't want your money, she was so upset she was crying."

„Yeah, crocodile tears to get a better price." He huffed.

„Care to explain?"

„We had sex last night and this morning I offered her money for a mutual agreement... two nights a week." He said.

„Holy fuck, Christian... Ana is not a hooker."

„Of course she is, look at me, why do you think she was so eager to get in my bed last night?" He said in disgust. When he woke up in the morning almost an hour before Ana he had looked at the beautiful girl in his arms. He had tried to come up with a possible reason for her to want to be with him anything just so he wouldn't have to face the bitter truth. But he had come up blank, it just wasn't in the realm of possibilities that a beautiful young woman like Ana could see anything more in him than a quick way to make cash. So, he had decided to bring it up first because he knew he couldn't have dealt with her making her demands. That she reacted badly to his offer only showed him that she knew there was more for her to get out of him. Frankly, at this point, he would pay whatever price she would demand just to have her talk to him.

„Jesus Christ, bro! Stop convincing yourself that you are some kind of horrible monster because you are not. Have you even thought about the possibility that she liked you or felt attracted to you?"

„Attracted to what? These hideous scars or maybe the fact that I need a cane to move around."

„Well, you wouldn't need that fucking thing if it wasn't for you to be stubborn as fuck, now would you?" Elliot asked exasperated. He knew that Christian had been through more than anyone should but it frustrated him to no end that his younger brother had decided to drown in his self-pity instead of accepting what couldn't be changed and finally starting to enjoy his life.

„This conversation is over, go back to her place and tell her I'm open for any demand she has." Christian said angrily.

„Fuck no, I'm not going to offend her like that after you've hurt her by treating her like a hooker. So, if you want to make an ass out of yourself you will have to go and visit her yourself." Elliot said and left his brother to stew over what he had done.

Christian stared after his brother and threw a tumbler of whiskey against the wall. This had not gone the way he expected it to go but he wasn't ready to just give up. He just had to find a way to make Ana an offer she couldn't refuse, he had more money than he would ever need so that wasn't an issue and right now all he needed was for her to come back. If Elliot wasn't willing to help him he would just have Taylor go and talk to Ana instead.

If she was living alone he might have considered to go himself but he was not ready to let a stranger see him and deal with her roommates looks as soon as she saw him. Hell, he didn't even visit his parents because they had staff that he didn't know and he couldn't bear to have people stare at him. It made him want to find a corner to hide and that was a feeling he hated more than anything in the world.

He would never forget the way people kept staring at him whenever he left his home and it made him so angry and hurt that he would rather not leave his house at all than to ever go through that again.

So, all he had to do now was to find a way to get Ana to come back to his house, so they could negotiate and come up with a mutual agreement that would satisfy both of them. Because even if she had just sold him an illusion last night it had been the best night of his entire life and he wanted more...


	5. Chapter 5

Two weeks had passed since Ana had left Christian's mansion and he was still trying to get her to sell her body to him. His brother never returned only sent her flowers with an apology attached to it for coming to her on his brothers request without knowing what his brother was trying to achieve Christian had sent both Taylor and Sawyer to her place five times over the last two weeks with ridiculous offers. She had kicked them out each time and both men at least seemed very much embarrassed over what their boss had ordered them to do for him.

She had no idea what to do about it and she had been tempted more than just once to drive to his place and slap him but then she had reminded herself that in order to do so she would have to see him and that was something she had no desire to ever do again. Sadly, her subconscious seemed to disagree with that because she had been dreaming of him every night since she had left his house.

It was driving her insane because she didn't want to be reminded of the beautiful night they had shared that was ruined by his disgusting offer in the morning.

At least everything else was going smoothly for her. She had been accepted to study at WSU come fall and she had managed to find a part-time job as a barista at a local coffee shop. The job wasn't paying much but she didn't need much and Kate refused to take rent from her so the job provided enough for her to live off.

She had just finished her shift and bought some groceries to cook dinner for Kate and herself when she returned home.

„Hey Ana, you have a visitor." Kate said as she came in and Ana braced herself to be confronted with yet another indecent proposal from Christian brought to her by either Sawyer or Taylor. When she stepped into the living room, however, she dropped her grocery bags and just looked at the man sitting on the sofa smiling at her with a smug look on his handsome face.

She couldn't believe it, he had actually left his home to come and see her. For a second she wanted to hug him for finally leaving his house but then she reminded herself of the reason he was here and she glared at him.

„Ana, can we talk?" He asked and she pursed her lips.

„No, we can't, Christian because I'm done with being offended and humiliated by your offers in my own home!" She snapped.

„Then cut the crap and tell me how much you want." He yelled at her frustrated and got up from the sofa.

„Are you out of your mind? How many times do I have to say that I. Don't. Want. Your. Money?!" She hissed.

„No, you are just trying to get your price up, fine, so be it, at this point I'm willing to give you whatever you want as long as I can just take you home with me... if you don't want to fuck, fine, but I just need to have you around again." He said and she just looked at him, suddenly it looked like all the fight had left him and he was just defeated.

„Why do you believe that I'm out for your money?"

„Well, it's certainly not my good looks that made you have sex with me." He said bitterly and sat down again.

Ana remained silent was this it, did he really think those scars made him look so hideous that no one would want to be with him? Was there anything she could do to convince him otherwise? She had no idea... suddenly she wasn't even angry anymore, she just felt tired and defeated because she had no idea how to prove to him that she wasn't after his money.

„Christian, I don't want your money, actually the only reason I don't want to be anywhere near you is that you keep offering it to me. That morning when I woke up I wanted to stay... so all you ever had to do was to ask me to stay and I would have gladly done so. Instead, you offered me money for sex like I'm a whore... so, unless you finally realize that I don't want your money I don't think we have anything to talk about." She said and picked the grocery bags up which she brought into the kitchen.

„Do you think I'm stupid? Why on earth would a girl like you decide to be with me?"

„Maybe because you are not what you convinced yourself that you are. Jesus, the first time I saw you all I could think of was that I have never in my life seen a man this handsome. You should be thankful to have some flaws because otherwise, the only thing you could do all day was to fight women off with a stick." She muttered.

„Fine, I guess then we won't come to an agreement but if you believe that I believe even for one second that you think I'm attractive you really must think that I'm insane. I know that I'm a monster Ana... believe me, I have to look at myself in the mirror each day." He said and she just watched as he turned around and left the apartment.

„Jesus Ana, that's Christian Grey?" Kate who had watched their conversation from the kitchen asked.

„Yes." She replied while still looking at the door that had closed behind him.

„Well strike me down with a feather, Ana, the guy is seriously hot." Kate said while dramatically fanning herself.

„Yeah, tell him that, the stupid idiot has himself convinced that he is a monster that is so repulsive that the only possible reason for me having sex with him is that I'm after his money."

„So, what are you going to do about it and don't tell me you don't care because the way you've been looking at him says otherwise."

„I don't even know him, Kate... but I just can't stop thinking about him. Yes, I'm really attracted to him but there is also the fact that I truly believe we could be a great couple if given the chance."

„Well, then go get him, Ana. If he has built walls around him you better start to chisel the hell out of them until he can no longer hide and see what a great girl you are."

„I'm scared, Kate." Ana confessed.

„Of what?"

„To fall for him only to find out that is broken beyond repair. I know something bad must have happened to him and I get that he feels like he doesn't fit in... but I'm just scared that I can't fix him because he just doesn't want to." She said and Kate hugged her.

„Ana, that guy has not left his home for anything but he did for you. Maybe he wants you to convince him otherwise but he is just too scared to ask. I mean you and I don't care about some scars or a limp if it's a great guy... but there are enough nasty cunts who do put superficial shit like that over their feelings... maybe he got rejected before or I don't know..."

„So what do you want me to do, let him pay me to be with him until I can convince him otherwise... the second I agree to this disgusting deal he will never open up to me." Ana said and rested her head on the kitchen counter.

„I don't know, Ana... I just don't want you to live with regrets or wondering what if for the rest of your life." Kate said and Ana looked at her. Her friend was right, she needed to do something... he already took a huge step by coming to see her, so maybe now she needed had to take a leap of faith as well.

„I need to make a phone call, Kate... wish me luck."

Christian got up in the morning, took a shower and fed his cat all the while avoiding even the slightest gaze in the mirror. He had been sure he would have been able to convince Ana to return to his home, especially when he told her he wouldn't insist on sex. Maybe that was the dealbreaker for her, maybe it wasn't the money but just the mere thought of being intimate with him again that was too abhorrent to her. Still, she had denied him again and he had no idea what to do next to change her mind.

Sighing he finished getting dressed and walked downstairs and into the kitchen.

„Morning Gail, where are Devil and Angel?" He asked because he usually found them here having their breakfast.

„Ana decided to go for a run and took them with her."

„Oh ok... wait what did you just say?"

„I said Ana went for a run about thirty minutes ago and took them with her, she should be back within the next fifteen minutes." Gail said and he was sure he had misunderstood, so he got up and walked to the staff quarters where Ana's room had been. He walked inside and sure enough, he found her clothes in the drawers and more of her belongings in the bathroom. Still, he had no idea what had changed her mind but he was eager to find out.

So, he ate his breakfast in record time and then waited in the entry hall for her. It took almost fifteen minutes but finally, the door opened and she walked in dressed in yoga pants, trainers, a tank top, her hair in a messy bun she looked lovely and took him by surprise when she walked up to him and kissed him with a smile.

„I need to take a shower, we'll talk once I'm ready." She said and left him standing there with his mouth hanging open while both dogs followed her, though Devil turned around once to look at him as if to say Don't fuck it up again before he followed Ana to her room.

Another twenty minutes later she reappeared in the living room now dressed in a white sundress with butterfly print and her wet hair braided.

„Why are you here?" He asked cautiously.

„Because you asked me to come back yesterday evening." She said with a smile.

„You said you weren't interested."

„I changed my mind, that is if you can agree to my terms." She said and his gaze hardened, he knew she had a price, but to hear it really hurt.

„Fine state your demands." He said coldly.

„Good, I will stay here for as long as you want me to be here under one condition."

„Which one?"

„You will never again offer me money for spending time with you or having sex with you. I don't want your money if you feel the need to give something in exchange for sex give me your time because that's all I will accept. This is your one chance, the next time you insult me or question my motives I'm out." She said and he looked at her. This was ridiculous, she wanted to make him believe she actually wanted him.

„You can't be serious, why would you want that?" He asked incredulously.

„Apart from the fact that we have a rather high sexual attraction to the other I do believe that we could actually be a really good couple and I haven't had that feeling with anyone before in my life. So, I know you have built many walls around you but you are lucky that I'm stubborn as hell because I have decided to chisel at those walls until you let me in so we can see if there is a chance for us to be happy together."

„I... I have to work." He murmured too confused to find anything to say to that.

„Ok, I wanted to bake some cookies and then I have to go to work too, I'll be back around seven we can talk over dinner." She said with a smile, kissed his lips and left the room leaving him seriously bewildered over what just happened. But a tiny part of him, one he didn't allow to come through most of the time was hopeful... maybe she wasn't lying and there was hope of a future in which he wouldn't be alone all the time...


	6. Chapter 6

Ana returned to Christian's home at a quarter to seven, took another shower and changed before she went into the kitchen where she helped Gail making dinner while the women talked and had just put everything on the table when Christian walked in, so she went to him and hugged him.

„So, how was your day, did you get a lot of work done?" She asked and sat down with him.

„Not as much as I was hoping for. I was... distracted." He said cautiously.

„Distracted by what?"

„You... I was trying to figure out why you are here." He said deciding to go for honesty. At this point, the girl was a mystery to him and he just wanted to figure her out before he allowed himself to really hope and end up getting hurt again.

„I told you, you said you wanted me to come back."

„But you didn't want my offer."

„No, because it was rude and offensive. I'm not a thing you can buy, I'm a human being, I don't have a price. Luckily for you, I don't believe that you are as cold and crude as you have behaved towards me when you first made your offer."

„Then what do you get out of being here?"

„Simple, I'll get you." She said with a smile and again he was speechless. It seemed impossible for him that she wanted to be in his house just for him.

„You make it seem like that's a prize." He remarked dryly.

„I don't know yet, I'm still trying to figure you out which isn't that easy because you seem to be trying to keep me at bay. But we'll get there eventually." She said and started to eat.

„Where do you work?"

„A coffee shop downtown. I'm working five full shifts a week until I start college in the fall then I can adjust my weekly shifts to fit my classes."

„Do you enjoy it?"

„I don't know, it's not my dream job but it's ok until I eventual can work in my dream job. Plus, I love the scent of freshly ground coffee which I don't get to smell that often otherwise because I don't like coffee."

„Really, how do you get going in the morning without coffee?"

„A long shower and a glass of orange juice."

„I could think of something else to wake you up." He said with a smirk and she laughed.

„Once you are convinced that I don't have any ulterior motives to be here you can show me."

„What if I wanted to show you later?"

„No, I won't sleep with you unless you admit that I'm here because I want to be here and that it is not out of the realm of possibilities that I actually find you to be attractive." She said and his face darkened.

„Well, looks like I won't get laid in a very long time then."

„I don't think so, now don't be grumpy, we'll get there." She smirked and he sighed.

„Fine, do you want to watch a movie tonight?" He muttered like a sulky teenager.

„Sure."

Ana watched him and actually felt bad for Christian, he was like a fish out of water. Still, he had not asked her to leave which she thought was a good sign. After all, if he wasn't willing to see where things would go between them he could have just told her to leave his home.

After dinner, they went upstairs and he let her pick a movie. It wasn't even ten minutes into the movie when his hand was slowly creeping up her thigh under her skirt. She took it, pressed a kiss to it and then wrapped his arm around her instead before she looked at him. She was smiling, he was glaring and then gave up with a sigh before he pulled her closer so she could curl up against his side.

He looked at her while she watched the movie and had to admit that it was actually nice to have someone he could talk to during dinner and watch a movie together, but he just couldn't allow himself to see that this was real.

* * *

„Yes, mom, I'll check on him, don't worry." Elliot Grey ended the call with his mother and made a u-turn so instead of going home he could drive to his brother's.

Apparently Christian hadn't just missed to contact him, but he also hadn't contacted their parents or Mia in five days. So, he drove to his brother's got out of the car and knocked at the door until Taylor opened for him.

„Hi, is my brother upstairs?"

„Yes, Sir." Taylor said and so he ran up the stairs and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw his brother in his bedroom on the bed with Ana and they were playing a card game.

„Can I join?" He smirked and they both looked up.

„Fuck off, Elliot."

„I would, but our mom is out of her mind with worry because you haven't returned any of her calls in days."

„Shit, I forgot. I was... distracted."

„Let me guess... tiny brunette... very pretty... remarkably beautiful eyes... oh hey that description fits you Ana banana." He joked and Ana giggled.

„Is there anything I can do for you, Elliot?" Christian asked visibly annoyed.

„Well, first of all, tell me how you managed to make it back on this one's good side?"

„Oh, he didn't... I'm still trying to convince him that I'm not after his money... just after him... right, grumpy." She smirked and leaned over to give Christian a quick kiss to his pursed lips. She had been teasingly calling him grumpy as a nickname for three days now and he would rather bite his tongue off than confess that he actually liked it.

„I'm not grumpy, I'm just realistic."

„There we go again... you boys talk, I'm going to get something to drink. A beer, Mr. Grey?"

„Sure, and it's Elliot." He replied and both men watched her leave the room.

„So, what is going on here?"

„She says she wants to be with me... as in a relationship because she thinks we would make a great couple."

„And you don't?" Elliot asked and Christian laughed humorlessly.

„Have you seen her, she is beautiful, smart... the whole package... no way in hell would a girl like her actually be interested in me."

„God damn it... so you are letting her stay to scare her away?"

„The sooner she realizes I'm not falling for it the better." He muttered.

„Not really convincing."

„Fuck... look at me... there is no way she could ever love this." He said motioning to himself.

„What if she can?"

„How... damn it... I don't know what to do, Elliot. I want to believe her so I can keep her in my life but how could she see anything other than a monster in me."

„Christian, you have to let go of this nonsense, I know what Leila..."

„Do not mention that name." Christian snarled and got up.

„Hey, I got you some more cookies." Ana said as she walked back into Christian's bedroom.

„Keep them, I don't believe your show anyway, so you might as well get your shit and leave." He snarled at her and she placed the tray on the table and ran from the room.

„Well, looks like you don't need to wonder about what if's anymore." Elliot muttered while shaking his head sadly.

„You don't think she is running, right?"

„Bro, you just told her to leave, no running necessary."

„Fuck." Christian exclaimed and ran out of the room leaving his brother behind with a smile. His brother may not be able to see it just yet but he clearly had found the one and Elliot couldn't be happier for him.

Christian hurried to Ana's room as fast as he could without risking to fall down the stairs and when he found her she was about to pack and was sniffling while trying not to sob.

He had no idea what to say so instead he walked to her suitcase and started to unpack everything she was packing.

„What are you doing?" She asked.

„You are not leaving." He muttered while putting her socks back in the top drawer.

„Really, because I'm pretty certain you just kicked me out."

„I changed my mind."

„Oh my God! Your mood swings are giving me whiplash... what made you so angry that you felt the need to let it out on me?" She asked looking at him and he grabbed a handkerchief from his pants pocket and started to wipe her tears.

„My brother brought up a very sore topic... I wasn't thinking clearly. I'm sorry... please don't leave."

„Then talk to me... please... I just don't understand why you are so dead set on shutting me out... have I done anything to make it seem like I'm not honest with you?" She asked, she was at her wits end with this man. One second they were talking and having fun and the next he flipped the switch and was shutting her out again or even got downright mean. She wanted to believe that he was the charming and funny guy she had seen more and more over the last few days but at this point she wasn't sure anymore.

„No, you haven't... I just don't understand what you see in me." He confessed.

„I see someone who is funny, charming, easy to talk to and to look at... no don't give me that look... listen to me... you are easy to look at Christian you just for whatever reasons don't want to see it yourself." She said and he sat down on her bed.

„There was a time when I thought I was like everyone else... that I could have a normal life... turns out it is not in the cards for me." He said and she sat down next to him.

„Do you want to tell me what happened?" She asked quietly and he just looked at her for the longest time.

„Like my siblings, I was adopted. My parents were teens, completely overwhelmed with raising a child. I was taken away from them when I was four years old. A neighbor reported them to CPS because I was limping and constantly had bruises on my face."

„They were abusive?"

„My father mainly, my mother just wasn't able to stop him and blamed me for missing out on being a normal teenage girl. I was admitted to the hospital to get all of my injuries documented and treated. Turns out that at some point I had a broken leg that hadn't been treated so the bones didn't grow together correctly, hence the limp. At the hospital I met Grace Grey, she was a doctor there. I remember that she was always so kind to me I thought she was an angel." He said with a smile as he remembered meeting the woman who became his mom.

„They had already adopted Elliot and wanted to adopt another child. The took me in as foster parents first but my biological parents soon agreed to give me up for adoption and so I became the son of Grace and Carrick Grey. By that time I had just turned five and they decided to have the bones in my leg corrected. It's a pretty standard surgery, the bones get broken and fixated in the correct position, it should have been fine after three to four months... things turned out very differently though." He said and looked down.

„What happened?" Ana asked.

„I was already put under and in the OR, they were about to start with the procedure. My mom was just outside watching when a fire started in the OR. If you look into it you'll find out that fires in OR's are actually not that uncommon, it's just not something people talk about. The fire spread rapidly... my mother ran in and managed to get me out.. burned one of her hands in the process. I was brought to a different hospital one that was specializing in the treatment of burn victims. I was put in a coma for six weeks because it would have been too painful to treat the burns otherwise. It looked a lot worse in the beginning. I had about thirty surgeries until I was fifteen. My parents had me homeschooled because of it, so I wouldn't miss that much in school while I had to be at the hospital again. When I was fifteen I just had enough of the surgeries, constantly being in pain because of them... I just wanted to live. I... I didn't think the way I looked or my limp would be an issue. After all my family and doctors and kids at the hospital were treating me normal and that was all I knew. I had noticed that Elliot's friends would sometimes exchange looks when they saw me but I didn't give it much thought and I also just ignored the kids in the neighborhood calling me names... I told myself it was just because even though Elliot was the older one I was taller then him and that those kids were just being bullies turns out it wasn't like that at all." He said and stopped for a moment indicating that he was about to share something more painful than what he had already done.

„I told my parents I didn't want anymore surgeries until I was finished with high school. That I didn't want to be homeschooled anymore and they agreed. Elliot was delighted that we would go to the same school after the summer and he wanted me to already have friends by that time. Some of his friends had siblings my age. One of them was a girl named Leila. I fell for her almost immediately... ran after her like a lovesick puppy all summer and she made me believe that she liked me as well. I took her to the movies, dinners ... even shopping... the weekend before school started there was an end of the summer party. She invited me to come as her date. I should have known something about this wasn't right but I didn't want to admit that I was different from the other kids. When I arrived at the party and went to her all the people stared at me, some where whispering to each other... others pointed there fingers at me and then Leila stepped forward. I asked her if we could leave and do something alone, she said we could go to a room upstairs and I went with her. She took her dress off and made it pretty clear what she wanted, I got undressed too and then she opened the door and let everyone in. They were laughing, called me a monster... some took pictures... another girl screamed to kill it with fire and Leila just laughed at me and told me the only reason she could bear to have me around was that I was her paycheck to a great summer. After that night I told my parents I wouldn't go to school. I didn't want to leave the house no matter what my family tried... the few times I did I really noticed how people were looking at me and I decided that I'd rather be on my own than to ever have to see people looking at me like I'm a monster ever again." He finished his story and was surprised when Ana came closer and pulled him into her embrace. For a moment he hesitated but then he pulled her closer and buried his face in her silky hair.

He still wasn't sure that he could allow himself to trust her but in this moment he was willing to at least give it a try...


	7. Chapter 7

„Gail we won't need you to cook dinner tonight." Christian announced two days later when he came into the kitchen in the morning, surprising both Gail and Ana who were already there.

„You putting us on a diet, grumpy?" Ana grinned and he laughed.

„No, my parents... they have family dinner every Sunday... I haven't been there since I moved out, but I thought... maybe we could attend together?" He said and she smiled.

„Sounds great, count me in." She said as she took two plates of scrambled eggs, bacon and toast and put them on the table for them.

„There might be a chance that I change my mind last minute." He admitted and Ana took his hand in hers with a smile.

„It's ok, if you change your mind then we will just stay home order pizza and after that, I'm going to beat your ass at pool and air hockey again." She said with a smile and he pouted.

„The only reason you are winning all the time is that I let you." He said and she laughed.

„Yeah right, that's why you are so salty each time you lose."

„I still believe that you cheat, no one can have that much luck."

„It's called talent and know-how, not luck, Mr. Grey." She giggled and kissed his pouting lips. „Eat up, Devil and Angel are waiting for us to take them out for a walk."

„Fine." He muttered. Two days ago Ana had convinced him to leave the house with her to take the dogs for a walk. At first, he had no desire to do so but she had gently insisted until he gave in and he had to admit that leaving the house for a change hadn't been bad. Of course, the fact that he lived in a very remote area with no close by neighbors had helped but Ana had distracted him so much with telling him stories from her childhood while they were outside that he didn't even know if other people had seen him and much to his surprise he didn't care. He had enjoyed himself way too much to care what other people would think of him for change.

Which was why he wanted to visit his parents with her. Something about the way she treated him was putting him so much at ease that he just didn't care how other people reacted to him. Still, he hadn't told his parents that they would come over. His mother made enough food to feed a small army anyway and he didn't want to disappoint her if he couldn't do it in the end. His parents had been through so much with him, he just didn't want to add anymore heartache and disappointment to it.

Grace Grey was setting the table for family dinner and sighed. She still set the table for five each time even though her middle son hadn't been home in almost nine years. She knew that he needed help and had drifted into a phobia of leaving his home a long time ago but no matter how often she had tried to convince him that he needed to see someone to help him overcome his fears he had gotten angry and asked her to leave.

She had stopped counting the nights she had spent crying herself to sleep while worrying about her son. He had been such a brave boy, never complaining or crying even though she knew that he had been in pain for most of the time. And then just when she thought life would finally look up for him one night and a bunch of cruel teenagers ruined everything.

She and her husband had had many arguments over him not wanting to attend a normal school anymore. With her taking Christian's side while Carrick insisted that making him attend a normal school would be the best thing for him. In the end, she had won those arguments though looking back she knew it hadn't done him any good. Instead, it had enabled him to become even more withdrawn until now he didn't leave the house at all.

„Can I help you, mom?"

„No, but thank you, Mia, I'm almost done. Has Elliot arrived?"

„As always, my brother followed the scent of food and has just arrived." Her youngest daughter told her with a grin and Grace shook her head amused. She loved the teasing banters between the siblings that had been going on as soon as Mia had started to talk. By now it came so naturally to them, she was sure her children wouldn't be able to cope without their teasing.

They had just all sat down for dinner when the doorbell rang. „I'll get it." Grace said and got up because on Sundays she gave the staff the night off and did everything herself. When she opened the door she couldn't believe. In front of him was her son, smiling down at her.

„Hey, mom... what's for dinner?" He asked with a smirk and she hugged him tightly.

„Sweetheart, I'm so happy you are here. Come, your father and siblings will be delighted."

„Wait, mom, I have brought someone with me." He said and she looked around to find a petite brunette next to her son.

„Wait, you are Ana right, you took over the position as a housekeeper for Gail while she was on her honeymoon." Grace said.

„That's right. It's good to see you again, Mrs. Grey." Ana said and noticed that the older woman's eyes widened in surprise and delight when Christian took Ana's hand in his.

„So, do you think you have enough food to feed both of us?" Christian asked.

„Don't be silly, you know I have enough food to feed ten people." Grace said desperately trying not to cry over the sight in front of her. So, she led them into the dining room where Christian was crowded by his family while Grace stood behind with Ana.

„Are you his girlfriend, dear?" She asked.

„We are working on it, he has a hard time letting me in." Ana admitted.

„Well, whatever you have done so far, keep on doing it, dear." Grace said and they all sat down.

„I have to say, Ana, I like you, you sure can keep up with a lot if you spend a lot of time with my dear bro." Elliot said grinning when they were eating.

„It's not that bad, grumpy over there has been smiling so much lately, I might have to change his nickname and call him happy instead." She joked and winked at Christian who was sitting across from her was trying his hardest not to grin at her remark.

„Come on, I know you want to laugh." She teased him and this time he did grin at her.

„So, are you dating?" Mia who couldn't stop herself any longer asked.

„We are trying to figure that out... but Ana lives with me now." Christian said with a smile and everyone looked at them in surprise.

„You already live together?"

„We are trying to get to know each other and Christian doesn't leave the house much, so it was just the best way to spend a lot of time together." Ana offered.

„But you are no longer working for my son, right?" Carrick asked.

„No, I'm working at a coffee shop in downtown Seattle and I'm going to start college in the fall."

„Really, you want to make a degree?" Grace asked.

„Yes, I've worked the last five years since I graduated from high school as a live-in housekeeper, so I could save enough money to pay for my education."

„And your parents were ok with that?"

„My parents died when I was fifteen, the family of my best friend took me in after that and they offered to pay for my education but I wanted to pay for my education myself without any student loans which I am now able to."

„So you don't have a family?"

„I consider my best friend and her family my family now. Other than that I don't have any family."

After dinner Christian offered to show her around a bit and so they walked outside.

„Did you play in that treehouse?" Ana asked when she saw the beautiful treehouse in the backyard.

„I got it for my seventh birthday. I couldn't climb the ladder, so my parents had a small elevator that can be pulled up with a rope inside of it installed. Elliot and I would play in there for hours on end... Mia wasn't allowed to come in... boys only. Do you like treehouses?" He smirked.

„Yes, I had one too as a kid. Kate and I spend hours in there decorating it, we had furniture, wallpaper, tiny curtains... and of course, boys weren't allowed which drove Ethan insane." Ana giggled.

„Is he a good friend of yours?"

„Yes, he is like a brother to me now." She said and he raised an eyebrow.

„So, he wasn't always?"

„When I was seventeen I had a crush on him, one night we got drunk together and that's how I lost my virginity. We both felt weird about it instantly but neither was willing to say it, so we awkwardly dated for about three months until I told him I didn't think we were meant to date. He was relieved that I brought it up because he felt the same but didn't want to hurt me after taking my virginity. Since then we are friends again, which is as it should be." She said.

„So, how many guys have there been between him and me?" Christian asked trying to sound casual and failing miserably.

„None, after the whole Ethan debacle I promised myself to wait until I would find someone I really liked... with whom I could imagine to build a future."

„Then why me?"

„Because I believe we could have a pretty great future together... and because I know that if I allow myself to I could easily fall in love with you... if I haven't already." She said quietly and he stopped and looked down at her.

„Ana... you have seen me... know how difficult I am... my issues... how could you possibly fall in love with me?"

„First, because I like what I am seeing, second, yes, you are difficult but you aren't mean-spirited you are trying to protect yourself from getting hurt which is understandable, so I truly believe that once you finally allow yourself to see that I'm not going to hurt you, you'll be much less difficult. As for your issues, I feel like over the last few days you have been making progress, we can work on them together. So, to answer your question it is actually very easy to fall in love you especially whenever you allow me to see the real you." She said and unable to answer anything he just pulled her into his arms and held her tight.

With every word she had said he had felt his walls crumble a tiny bit more and all he could do was to hope that she was being honest because at this point he knew there was no going back. He had fallen in love with Anastasia Steele and there was nothing he could do about it...


	8. Chapter 8

_**Disclaimer: All characters belong to E. L. James**_

It had been a month since Ana moved back to Christian's mansion and she was still marveling at how much he had changed in such little time. He still preferred to stay home most of the time but at least they now took his dogs out for a walk each morning and on Sundays, they went to visit his parents to have dinner with his family.

Three days ago he even agreed to meet Kate and Ethan, so she invited them over and the had a movie night which he seemed to have enjoyed a lot, in fact, it had been him who had invited her friends over to hang out next Saturday with them and his siblings. Kate and Ethan liked Christian instantly and after he needed a bit to warm up to having strangers in his house they all had a really good time.

Ana was glad that he got along with Ethan because she hadn't been sure if he would be jealous of Ethan or treat him differently but after seeing that there were no feelings between them he had acted friendly towards Ethan.

As for herself, she had fallen in love with Christian. She had tried not to but that had proven to be an impossible task. He was just so easy to love and still she wasn't sure he was fully allowing himself to believe that she was there for him. But she was giving it time. Years of allowing himself to close himself off from the world and believing that he is a monster couldn't be undone in mere weeks. Still, she was sure that eventually, he would get there especially because she could tell that he wanted to. He did have feelings for her he just couldn't fully allow himself to let go of his fears.

She was in her room reading while he was upstairs working when someone knocked.

„Come in." She called out and smiled when Christian walked in and sat down on the small sofa by the window next to her.

„There is something I would like to discuss, Ana."

„Ok."

„I have been thinking about having another surgery to get the bones in my leg corrected." He said and she frowned.

„Is that even still possible?"

„Yes, however, it might not work seeing how long it has been since the bones grew together incorrectly."

„Can it get worse?"

„No, it either improves so with physical therapy I will be able to walk without using a cane or I will have to live with the limp. It would require a six-day stay at the hospital and about three to six months of recovery... most likely another surgery to remove some screws after that."

„Are there risks?" She asked.

„There is the normal risk that any surgery bares, in addition, there is a major artery very close by to where they would have to work on my leg." He said and she looked at him.

„Do you want to do it?"

„I'm not sure... I have thought about it from time to time... but I never made a decision especially because I would have to stay at the hospital, have therapy and shit."

„Why do you want to do it now?"

„Well, there is this beautiful woman in my life now and she is very active... likes to go on runs and I've heard she really likes to dance..."

„Christian, please... you don't have to do this for me. If you want the surgery for yourself you have my full support, but don't make this decision because you believe you have to for me."

„What if I wanted to have the surgery because one day I want to dance with you on our wedding day and a few years later I want to run around in the backyard with our children." He said and Ana felt tears building in her eyes which all too soon spilled over.

„I would love to dance with you at our wedding and watch you run around with our children, I just don't want you to do something that could be dangerous to your health." She finally said.

„I'm going to meet an expert from Boston next week, he wants to go through all the possibilities with me... will you come with me?" He asked.

„Of course, and you better believe that I won't leave your side for a long while should you decide to go through with it."

„I don't ever want you to leave my side, Ana." He said and stroked her cheek with one hand while leaning in closer. He looked at her making his intentions to kiss her perfectly clear and she slowly nodded so he sealed her lips with his and gently kissed her.

Ana knew this wouldn't end with just a kiss and even though she had wanted to wait until he was sure she was being honest with him she couldn't stop. He had talked about marriage and kids so he too saw them having a future together and that was all she needed to know in this moment to not stop him from making love to her.

When she was laying in his arms, later on, she looked at him with a smile and gently pushed the hair that was sticking to his forehead from his face.

„You really want to be here." He murmured and this time it wasn't a question when he said it.

„I know, I really want to be here."

„I guess I'll never know how I got so lucky." He murmured caught her hand in his and kissed it.

„Dito." She said and raised an eyebrow when he rolled his eyes.

„Sorry... and I'm glad that you've decided to chisel on my walls." He said.

„And I won't stop until I've managed to break them all down."

 _ **Two months later**_

„This is ridiculous." Christian muttered exasperated as he planted his butt in the stair lift chair that had been installed while he had been at the hospital.

„It's not for long, Christian, but your doctors have told you not to put too much pressure on your leg, so climbing up the stairs three or more times each day is not possible." Ana said and showed him how the thing worked.

The surgery had been six weeks ago and that was exactly how long he had been at the hospital due to a number of complications during and post surgery. If it wasn't for Ana, he knew he would have lost his mind in that time but she had been there every day and even quit her job just so he wouldn't be alone. Instead, she had been with him all day and sometimes when he wasn't feeling well she had convinced the doctors and nurses to let her stay with him during the night. They had spent hours talking, playing cards or board games and started to plan a future together starting with Ana moving into his bedroom once he got home.

When he couldn't stand to have nurses look at him she had taken over to wash him each day while he wasn't allowed to move or have a shower. He even taught her how to shave him because it was so fucking annoying and complicated to do that while lying in bed. When he was being honest with himself he also taught her how to do it because he enjoyed it when she was taking care of him.

Above all, the long time at the hospital had taught him that Ana was the real deal. She wasn't looking for anything other than to be with him. When she had quit her job to be there for him he had offered to give her one of his credit cards to use for whatever she needed but she declined insisting to use her savings instead. At some point, they had to talk about that because the wish to take care of her in every possible way had increased more and more for him.

„You should get some rest, your physical therapist will be here in two hours. I'm getting you a glass of water so you can take your pills." She said and he knew he looked pissed but he hated that he couldn't do as he pleased.

„Don't be so grumpy, grumpy... if you are being a good boy I might go and buy sexy nurse costume to wear just for you." She said and the thought made him grin.

„See, I knew you would like that."

„Lay down with me, I've missed sharing a bed with you."

„Ok, I'll just get your water first." She said and soon returned with a water, made sure he took his pills and then got into the bed with him.

„Have I thanked you yet, baby?"

„Thanked me for what?" She asked confused about what he meant.

„For being there for me, believing in me, not giving up on me... the list is endless." He said honestly and she smiled.

„I love you, Christian Grey." She simply replied.

„And I love you, Ana Steele."

 _ **Six months later**_

„Damn bro, I know it says hearts and flowers but that's a lot of flowers." Elliot whistled while he, Kate, Mia and Ethan were helping Christian along with his staff to get everything ready for what Christian had planned for Ana.

„Oh shut up, Elliot, you have no clue when it comes to romance." Mia snapped at her brother.

„Kate, come on, babe, defend me." Elliot said and Kate rolled her eyes.

„You invited me to an ice hockey game for our first date... so I guess I better keep my mouth shut." Kate giggled and put some more vases filled with wildflowers on the floor.

After three hours the huge living room had been transformed into an indoor meadow with only a small path that was fenced in by candles and led to the center of the room where a picnic blanket was spread out.

„Do you think she'll like this?"

„Are you kidding dude... Ana is going to die when she sees this... man remind me that I come to you for some tips if I ever want to propose."

„When not if." Mia said giving her boyfriend of three months a little glare followed by puppy eyes and a pout that had everyone in the room laughing.

„Thanks again, everyone... this means a lot to me." Christian said and a little later he went upstairs to wait for Ana who would be home soon after her classes for the day were done.

He had planned his proposal for months now and with summer break coming up in three months they had enough time to plan their wedding, get married and go on an extended honeymoon. He wanted everything to be perfect, so he also had waited until his physical therapy had been completed. The surgery had been a success and he now could walk without needing a cane for support which had given him a lot more freedom.

He even had started to drive himself to pick Ana up from college on some days and even though he still felt a bit anxious to go out in public, he did it once a week when he took Ana on a date. They would go to the movies and he had rented a box at a theatre and a concert hall, so they could watch a play or musical at least once a month. He knew he would most likely never be one to enjoy crowded places and would always prefer to stay in the privacy of his home but he had to admit that he enjoyed their outings.

When she came into their bedroom she ran straight into his arms and kissed him.

„Missed me?" He asked with a smirk.

„I always miss you, grumpy." She grinned and he laughed because somehow the nickname had stuck with him and now he loved it when she used it.

„I have a surprise for you. First here." He said and handed her a shopping bag that held a beautiful white cocktail dress with a blue pattern that matched her eye color.

„Christian that's beautiful... thank you." She said and kissed him.

„Can you put it on?"

„Are we going out?" She asked surprised.

„No, and you won't need shoes." He said with a smile and pointed down so she could see that he was barefoot too.

„Are you up to something, Mr. Grey?" She asked amused while she undressed and then put the new dress on. Christian stepped behind her to zip her up and kissed her neck.

„We could just stay here." Ana sighed and leaned against him.

„You don't want to know what the surprise is?" He said and smiled against her neck.

„Fine... surprise me." She said and he took her hand and led her downstairs.

„Close your eyes, baby." He said and when she did he led her to the entry of the living room and stopped.

„You can look now." He whispered into her ear and when she opened her eyes she gasped.

„What... how..." She stuttered and he chuckled.

„You told me you like picnics, seeing that it is a bit too cold for that just yet I thought we could have a picnic in here."

„When did you do all of this?" Ana asked still stunned by just looking at the beautiful sight in front of her.

„I had a little help. Come, let's have dinner." He said and they both sat down on the blanket where Gail had placed their dinner for them.

„It's so beautiful, Christian... this must be thousands of wildflowers." She said unable to focus on anything but her surroundings and Christian was happy to just watch her.

Before they moved on to their dessert Christian reached over and pulled her into his lap.

„Do you know how happy you make me, Ana?"

„I hope as happy as you make me." She said smiling.

„When I bought this house I saw myself getting old here but it wasn't a pleasant thought because at the time I was convinced I had to grow old alone that I would never have someone in my life to share my home with. And then you came along. The first time I saw you was the day you came to talk to Gail. You were standing outside of the house and looked around. For a moment I thought you would run before you even went to the door but then you straightened your shoulders and went to knock anyway. I kept standing by the window the entire time just so I could catch a glimpse of you when you left." He said and she smiled up at him wanting to say something but he gently pressed his finger to her lips.

„I wanted to approach you so many times but I always feared you would run away screaming so I didn't. And when we finally did meet and you weren't scared or disgusted I just couldn't believe it, so I had to see you again, talk more to you... I just never expected you would actually want me too... and I almost lost the best thing that has ever happened to me because of it. I'm so glad you didn't give up on me even though I acted like such an ass... still I want more... more time with you... more of us talking... more of holding you in my arms like this... I don't ever want this to end..." He said and reached behind the picnic blanket to retrieve the small velvet encased ring box.

„Anastasia Rose Steele, do you want to marry me?" He asked and watched the tears that had gathered in her eyes while he had spoken spill over.

„Yes." Ana managed to get out before she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him.

 _ **5 Years Later**_

„She is so beautiful, just like her mommy." Christian said while looking at his daughter who was lying in bed between him and Ana. Phoebe Grace Grey had been born at home just two hours ago and he just couldn't take his eyes off of her. The little girl had her mother's dark hair and blue eyes and looked like a doll. She was simply perfect, just like her older brother Teddy who was staying with his grandparents so the birth of his sister wouldn't disturb him.

When Teddy was born two years ago Ana had intended to have him at a hospital, but little Teddy had different plans and had been born so quickly that they had no chance to even leave the house. It had been Christian who had to help his wife deliver the baby and even though everything had happened so fast it had been a magical experience for both of them which was why Ana and he had agreed that their daughter would be born at home too.

Christian still couldn't believe that he now wasn't just the husband of a beautiful and loving wife but also father to two children. After their wedding and a six-week honeymoon on a secluded island he had rented for them, they had decided to enjoy their life as a couple for the first few years before they would start a family. Two years after getting married they both had felt ready to have children and soon enough Ana had been pregnant with their son. Since they wanted to have their children close in age they had decided to try for another baby shortly after Teddy's first birthday and within a few months, Ana had been pregnant again. They wanted to have two more children in the future so their kids always had someone around to play with.

Ana and Christian both enjoyed living a very reclusive life with rare public outings and more family time. To the public Christian Grey was still a mystery and would most likely remain so forever which was how he preferred it. It allowed him to enjoy there few public outings without having to worry about paparazzi or potential kidnappers trying to figure out their routines to kidnap his wife or children to press him for money. He had bought them a summer home in the Hamptons that came with a private beach for the summer months, which not just them enjoyed but also his family who came to visit quite often during the summer.

Elliot and Kate had gotten married a year after Christian and Ana, with Mia and Ethan marrying just a few months after them. Kate had given birth to a girl by the name of Ava four months ago and Mia was currently seven months pregnant with her first son. So, their family was growing and they all hoped their children would become more than cousins but best friends.

„I bet she will take after you soon enough... Teddy did too." Ana said smiling at her husband. Sometimes she wanted to pinch herself just to make sure this was really her life and not a dream. She also would have loved to get a chance to tell the fifteen-year-old girl she once was that she would not just find love but an amazing family and would be happier than she could ever imagine.

She had graduated from college early after only three years right before Teddy was born but she never became the editor she once hoped to be. She had taken some creative writing classes and had started to write again, something she had stopped doing when her parents had died. But with the encouragement of her husband she had started to write a novel which since had become a bestseller with two more bestsellers that had followed since.

She had taken a page out of Christian's book and decided not to publish under her name so she could do what she enjoyed without having the public know about it or her. Book tours and interviews just didn't seem appealing to her when she could spend that time with her husband and children. At the very beginning, she had believed that she needed to bring Christian more out of his shell, make him enjoy leaving the house on any given chance but after a while, she had realized that not only was it not for him but she didn't want it either. She loved having him to herself and they had grown so close by living a rather secluded life that she never felt like either of them were missing out on something. They went on dates and met with their family but in the end, they both were happy to be home again.

One thing she would never regret though was that she had taken a huge leap of faith back when she decided to move back into his house to break through his walls. It could have gone terribly wrong which she had feared back then... but fighting for the man she now called her husband had been the best decision of her life because under the grumpy and cold exterior she had found the most kind, gentle and loving man... the man she would love for the rest of her life...

 _ **THE END**_

 _ **Thank you,** **everyone,** **for going on this short journey with me. I have to say, while I enjoyed writing all of my stories, I still always had a favorite with The Journal... however, that has changed now, because now this has become my favorite... Anyway, I think I'm going to write some more short stories in the future because they make it easier to give you regular updates and it stops me from creating too much drama which sometimes takes away from the core idea of the story... right now, I have two ideas for short stories, one that is set in 19th century London where due to an unfortunate chain of events Ana and Christian end up engaged and another where they grew up as neighbors and friends but Christian went missing in his teen years so after college Ana returns to Bellevue to find out what has happened to him. Let me know which one you want first :)**_

 _ **Sunny**_


End file.
